The 1801 incursion into Spanish Texas by Philip Nolan and his men brought about the realization of something Spanish royalists had long feared; - the westward expansion of the United States.

Though problematic, the Nolan expedition would pale in comparison to coming events. For nearly 40 years, Louisiana had been an extension of the vast empire of New Spain until being returned to France in 1802. Struggling to suppress a slave revolt in the Caribbean, Napoleon was left with no better option than to sell France’s Louisiana territory to the newly formed United States.